FIR Group, leader in design and development of custom motors

Deerfield, IL., September 20, 2012 – Kinetek has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Nidec Corporation (NYSE: NJ), a multi-billion dollar global manufacturer of small and medium sized motors. When the transaction is completed later this year Kinetek will become the second prominent U.S. acquisition of Nidec as it previously acquired the motors and appliance controls business of Emerson Electric in 2010.

“We are very proud of the team, technology, products and companies we’ve built at Kinetek and are now excited to be joining with Nidec to take our businesses to the next level,” said Randy Bays, Chief Executive Officer of Kinetek. “The shared synergies and commitments between our companies made Nidec the best choice among those companies our Board of Directors was considering for this important strategic relationship.”

The acquisition, expected to be finalized in November, will bring the custom engineered control, motor and drive system solutions expertise of Kinetek to Nidec’s global technology and manufacturing platform. Kinetek holds leading positions in the elevator/escalator, commercial floor care, golf car/utility vehicle, aerial lift/material handling, commercial food & refrigeration, and medical market segments.

Kinetek traces its roots to 1908 with the founding of the Imperial Electric Company in Akron, Ohio and 1911 with the founding of Merkle-Korff Industries in Chicago. Today, Kinetek manufacturing and design centers are located in the United States, Mexico, Italy, and China and employ about 3,000 people worldwide. Kinetek product lines include AC, DC, and brushless DC electric motors, pumps, gearing, gearboxes, fans, transaxles, human machine interface products (membrane switch assemblies, graphic overlays), electronic controls/systems and end products.

Kinetek companies include U.S.-based Advanced Motors & Drives, Imperial Electric, Scott DC Power Products, Euclid Universal, Kinetek Controls, Kinetek Advanced AC Solutions, Merkle-Korff Industries, Motion Control Engineering, Valmark Industries, Italy-based FIR Group (FIR, TEA & Selin); and China-based Kinetek De Sheng (KDS), Kinetek Jinghe (KJH), Kinetek Motor Master (KMM) and Zhongxiu Kinetek (ZXK).